I refer to the Malaysiskini report Pakatan states fume at being excluded from Sukma meeting.

I could not agree more with the point that politics should not get involved with sports

More so in the case of the Sukma games which has always been an important sporting event for the development of our nation's youth

Why must the government politicise the Sukma games? Why take it out on innocent young people? Why drag these young people unnecessarily into your own quarrels?

I can empathise with the outrage of the five Pakatan states over the churlish conduct of the ministry of youth and sports when they held a national Sukma meeting, deliberately excluding the five states.

This is a blatant example of immaturity. How are we going to set a decent example to our young people when we stoop to such low levels of behaviour?

Come on, please grow up.

If most of the leaders in the federal government continue to act in this fashion, you will continue to put off Malaysians. You will do this at the enormous risk of alienating yourselves from the general public who will not condone such unsporting behaviour

If the federal government persists in this silly divide-and-rule policy, then one should encourage the five Pakatan states to organise their own Sukma games

For God's sake, when it comes to sports which has always been a great leveler of sorts, let’s leave out politics.

Despite all the travails of religion, race and politics, we have had to endure in the past many years, it has always been refreshing, thankfully, to see Malaysians play all kind of sports without having to do with any interference from politics.

So, let’s not start now.